Three episodes in and James May's Cars of the People has already deviated a bit. This episode includes such proletariat rides as the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, Lamborghini Countach, and Porsche 911 Turbo. But as with all things James May, there's a method to his madness.

The theme is aspiration, and throughout the years, that desire to move up the social ranks through automobiles manifested itself in all kinds of strange, wonderful ways. We get a look at the commoditization of luxury, the rise of the company car, and the introduction of the hot hatch. But most importantly, May finally gets to wax poetic on the Mazda Miata. Oh, and we also get to watch him bolt the rear wing onto Harry Metcalfe's Lambo right after getting a peak inside May's childhood bedroom.